How parents see themselves may affect their child's brain and stress level

A mother's perceived social status predicts her child's brain development and stress indicators, finds a new study -- the first to link brain function to maternal self-perception. Children in the study, whose mothers saw themselves as having a low social status were more likely to have increased cortisol levels, (stress indicator), and less activation of their hippocampus, (structure in the brain responsible for long-term memory formation, required for learning) and reducing stress responses.View full story